Rufus (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
badass_tiger) wrote2023-07-16 10:11 pm
badass_tiger) wrote2023-07-16 10:11 pm
Entry tags:
Galehaut & Lancelot 5-minute summary (and more)
If you have the time and money, read Terry and Rosenberg's The Book of Galehaut* instead of reading this! If you're looking for the canon summary because, like, I'm in pinch-hit or whatever, read the below!
30-second canon summary
So yeah if you don't know anything about this ship/canon but love the concept like I do, don't worry about the characterisation or needing to know the canon because it's pretty simple! Galehaut is originally an enemy of Arthur who brings him to war in an attempt to conquer his kingdom and it's acknowledged that he easily could have done it if he wanted, but what stops him is his interest in the Black Knight (Lancelot), who fights on Arthur's side of the war. Galehaut just trots up to him and says 'Let me have your company for one night and I'll give you whatever you want' and Lancelot is like '???' but eventually agrees to go with him, then says 'Can you surrender to Arthur?' and Galehaut just goes 'Yes of course baby what a great idea'. They're both the stereotypical chivalrous knights and Galehaut is pretty romantic to Lancelot (he literally says things like 'I'd rather be killed by Lancelot than let Lancelot leave my side' all the time, and one of Guenevere's ladies tells her not to let Lancelot go back to Galehaut because 'he is more jealous of Lancelot than any knight of a young lady'), Lancelot is generally very grateful for Galehaut's affection but seems to feel more guilty about it than anything. Galehaut is largely the reason that Lancelot and Guenevere are able to act on their feelings for one another at all, acting as the best wingman ever out of his love for Lancelot. I am very easily emotionally overwhelmed and I broke down 6 times while reading the Lancelot-Grail. But that's the short of it.
Additional rundown of events (this is so long you might as well read the book lmao):
Galehaut is known as the son of the Fair Giantess who set out, in his words, to conquer the world. Being the son of a giantess, he is 'at least 6 inches taller than any other knight'. He challenges Arthur for his kingdom of Logres and very easily overwhelms Arthur's troops. A knight with a red shield randomly pops up and fights on Arthur's side, completely carrying the battle, then slinks away - this is Lancelot, who is currently in prison (don't ask) and was only released to take part in the fighting. After that fight, Galehaut offers a 1-year truce to Arthur and adds that he will make the red knight his own.
One year later, Lancelot is still in prison but this time negotiates his permanent release to fight again. He gets given a set of black armour and joins the fight. At one point, his horse falls so he's on foot. Galehaut runs up to him on his own horse and gives that to him, telling him that he's ordered no one to hurt him, he'll give him more horses if his falls again, then runs back to his own people. After the battle, Galehaut catches up with Lancelot again and says 'I would do more for you than you believe. Stay with me tonight and I will do whatever you ask of me.' Lancelot is understandably skeptical but is eventually persuaded to believe him. He goes back to Galehaut's camp with him where he is greatly celebrated by Galehaut's men, who recognise him as the best knight they've ever seen in battle, much to his extreme embarrassment. Then, and I'm not making this up, while Lancelot is asleep in a beautiful bed (which he also finds terribly embarrassing because he's being made to sleep above the other knights), Galehaut creeps inside and lies down next to him and watches him all night. I swear to God that's exactly what's written in here.
The next day, Lancelot tells Galehaut what he wants, which is that after the fighting and it becomes obvious that Galehaut is going to win, that Galehaut go to Arthur and surrender. And Galehaut's friends (two kings) are like 'Well, Galehaut, you done fucked up' but Galehaut is literally like 'You're so amazing, of course I will.' By the way, no one knows Lancelot's name at this point, and Lancelot isn't going to say. Galehaut does not care, if Lancelot doesn't want to tell him his name, then he won't ask for it.
Anyway, that's exactly what Galehaut does, he continues fighting (Lancelot also fights on Galehaut's side but while wearing Galehaut's armour, I couldn't make this up if I tried) then when it's really obvious he's going to win, he goes and surrenders to Arthur and everyone knows that it's because of the Black Knight. So everyone's very happy of course, Arthur treats Galehaut like a friend, asks him to stay the night, etc. and like every few hours or every time Arthur asks him something (like 'Have dinner with me and my wife?'), Galehaut goes back to Lancelot and asks him what to do (obviously Lancelot says things like 'Have dinner with them'). Like straight up does this multiple times.
Galehaut spends the night at Arthur's camp (on Lancelot's advice), then goes back to his own camp in the morning where his friends (the two kings) have been keeping Lancelot company and they tell him that Lancelot has been crying in his sleep. Galehaut goes into Lancelot's room to check on him, Lancelot pretends that he's sleeping, so Galehaut leaves him alone, then when Lancelot wakes up for real, Galehaut asks him what's wrong. Lancelot tries to hide it at first, Galehaut tells him that he will actually go and fight who- or whatever hurt him, then Lancelot just starts breaking down and Galehaut runs to hug him and kiss him on the eyes and mouth. I know guys just did that back in the day, but like, plenty of people agree that Galehaut was actually gay, so yeah.
After talking to Lancelot, Galehaut goes back to Arthur's camp, has a nice chat, etc. then Guenevere goes up to Galehaut and privately asks to meet the Black Knight. Galehaut just blags it like 'I don't even know where he is', then goes back to Lancelot and tells him what Guenevere wants, and when Lancelot starts crying again, Galehaut realises what the deal is. He sets it up so that Guenevere and Lancelot can meet in secret, although he tells Guenevere 'You're going to take away the person in the world dearest to me' and Guenevere is like 'Um, what?' until she meets him and she's honestly terrible to him, just like toys with his emotions and everything until Lancelot is on the verge of another breakdown (if you don't know, Lancelot frequently falls into 'fits of madness' so it's not that surprising). She calls to Galehaut and tells him what happened, then Galehaut tells her to take pity on Lancelot and to love him back, which she promises to do. Then she tells Galehaut Lancelot's name.
So like yeah, Camelot was doomed because of Galehaut, basically, technically, kind of.
After that, Lancelot goes to Sorelois (where Galehaut lives) with Galehaut and they chill for a while, although Lancelot is really sad the whole time because he's not with Guenevere and Galehaut just has to do his best to cheer him up. Then Arthur gets attacked by the Saxons, a bunch of stuff happens, but it's all just details, really. Like Arthur gets imprisoned, they go to help but get caught themselves, Galehaut begs to be let to stay in the same cell as Lancelot but is denied, Lancelot gets to leave and Galehaut is convinced that Lancelot is dead when he hears this until Lancelot comes back to free everyone, and when he does this, Lancelot is in armour, right, so when Galehaut is free and starts to arm himself, he suddenly goes, 'I can't do this, I don't want to fight if the person I love the most is gone' (he actually says this) then Lancelot pulls off his helmet like 'No, look, I'm right here!' and they hug and all is well.
Then (do not think for a single moment that Galehaut's suffering ever ends) after the fight, Arthur is eager to make Lancelot his knight except that Lancelot currently belongs to Galehaut. Galehaut knows this too and says to Lancelot, 'What will happen to me then, I who have completely devoted my heart and soul to you?' (Again, not making this up.) Arthur really shows off his bad side here by acknowledging that he can't make Lancelot his own knight because Lancelot belongs to Galehaut so what does he do but get Guenevere to beg Lancelot to join Arthur's knights and of course Lancelot immediately goes 'Oh God yes okay fine' and Galehaut is understandably appalled by this, and he says 'I'd rather be poor and happy than rich and miserable' - which, wise words, - and asks to be made a knight as well. This is considered shameful for Galehaut (I mean, Arthur too, but never mind him) because Arthur's underhanded tactics means that he basically had the upper hand on Arthur at that moment, but chose to submit to Arthur instead.
This fact bothers Lancelot too because he's reduced Galehaut, who is such a great man, to begging to be made a knight for his sake. They're both so emo about this on the way back to Sorelois that they don't talk to each other until Galehaut gets distracted and has a terrible fall and nearly fucking dies, then Lancelot makes a huge fuss over him which cheers him up considerably. Then Galehaut tells him about his ambition to have 150 kings under him, after which he would make himself a king, and about the castle he built for him and his kings, except that he's thrown away all his ambitions now because of Lancelot. So now Lancelot is even more emo! And some people say that Galehaut could have been an even greater king than Arthur (I mean, he nearly defeated him twice) except for his love for Lancelot holding him back. So at least now Lancelot is aware of just how much Galehaut has thrown away for him and how devoted Galehaut is to him.
This is when a fake Guenevere appears and honestly, not too much of interest here (to me), except that when news reaches Galehaut and Lancelot about the accusation, Lancelot is obviously distraught but Galehaut is like 'I mean, it's good news for you if Arthur divorces her', then tells Lancelot that he'll make Lancelot and Guenevere king and queen of all the lands he has if that happens. He also reveals to Lancelot that he once had a thought to kidnap Guenevere for Lancelot's sake but figured that probably wouldn't work out and Lancelot agrees. But it's fun that Galehaut admits that the only time he has ever considered being a villain was for Lancelot's sake. Also, Galehaut and Lancelot go to Camelot for a while and Lancelot gets injured during a competition and he asks Arthur not to let Galehaut know because he would lose his mind. That's pretty cute.
Oh and finally, Lancelot gets kidnapped by Morgan, lots of stuff happens but she eventually lets him go on the condition that he not see Guenevere or Galehaut for a year, then Galehaut hears that Lancelot committed suicide and dies of grief. After he is buried, Lancelot eventually stumbles across his grave and is so wracked with emotion he's literally this close to killing himself when a messenger from his mother figure tells him to take Galehaut's body to the Joyous/Dolorous Guard (Lancelot's rightful land), which Lancelot agrees to do. When Lancelot unearths Galehaut's body and sees Galehaut's face, he nearly takes up Galehaut's sword to kill himself again before the messenger snatches it away. Then Lancelot goes to the Joyous Guard, breaks down over Galehaut's body again, then kisses him three times before burying him. When Lancelot himself dies way later, he's buried next to Galehaut, which is considered further proof that they were lovers, so that's sweet.
*I actually haven't read it myself because I read the Lancelot-Grail and feel like I died three times while doing so and frankly don't think I could handle a fourth time BUT I bet it's really good!
30-second canon summary
So yeah if you don't know anything about this ship/canon but love the concept like I do, don't worry about the characterisation or needing to know the canon because it's pretty simple! Galehaut is originally an enemy of Arthur who brings him to war in an attempt to conquer his kingdom and it's acknowledged that he easily could have done it if he wanted, but what stops him is his interest in the Black Knight (Lancelot), who fights on Arthur's side of the war. Galehaut just trots up to him and says 'Let me have your company for one night and I'll give you whatever you want' and Lancelot is like '???' but eventually agrees to go with him, then says 'Can you surrender to Arthur?' and Galehaut just goes 'Yes of course baby what a great idea'. They're both the stereotypical chivalrous knights and Galehaut is pretty romantic to Lancelot (he literally says things like 'I'd rather be killed by Lancelot than let Lancelot leave my side' all the time, and one of Guenevere's ladies tells her not to let Lancelot go back to Galehaut because 'he is more jealous of Lancelot than any knight of a young lady'), Lancelot is generally very grateful for Galehaut's affection but seems to feel more guilty about it than anything. Galehaut is largely the reason that Lancelot and Guenevere are able to act on their feelings for one another at all, acting as the best wingman ever out of his love for Lancelot. I am very easily emotionally overwhelmed and I broke down 6 times while reading the Lancelot-Grail. But that's the short of it.
Additional rundown of events (this is so long you might as well read the book lmao):
Galehaut is known as the son of the Fair Giantess who set out, in his words, to conquer the world. Being the son of a giantess, he is 'at least 6 inches taller than any other knight'. He challenges Arthur for his kingdom of Logres and very easily overwhelms Arthur's troops. A knight with a red shield randomly pops up and fights on Arthur's side, completely carrying the battle, then slinks away - this is Lancelot, who is currently in prison (don't ask) and was only released to take part in the fighting. After that fight, Galehaut offers a 1-year truce to Arthur and adds that he will make the red knight his own.
One year later, Lancelot is still in prison but this time negotiates his permanent release to fight again. He gets given a set of black armour and joins the fight. At one point, his horse falls so he's on foot. Galehaut runs up to him on his own horse and gives that to him, telling him that he's ordered no one to hurt him, he'll give him more horses if his falls again, then runs back to his own people. After the battle, Galehaut catches up with Lancelot again and says 'I would do more for you than you believe. Stay with me tonight and I will do whatever you ask of me.' Lancelot is understandably skeptical but is eventually persuaded to believe him. He goes back to Galehaut's camp with him where he is greatly celebrated by Galehaut's men, who recognise him as the best knight they've ever seen in battle, much to his extreme embarrassment. Then, and I'm not making this up, while Lancelot is asleep in a beautiful bed (which he also finds terribly embarrassing because he's being made to sleep above the other knights), Galehaut creeps inside and lies down next to him and watches him all night. I swear to God that's exactly what's written in here.
The next day, Lancelot tells Galehaut what he wants, which is that after the fighting and it becomes obvious that Galehaut is going to win, that Galehaut go to Arthur and surrender. And Galehaut's friends (two kings) are like 'Well, Galehaut, you done fucked up' but Galehaut is literally like 'You're so amazing, of course I will.' By the way, no one knows Lancelot's name at this point, and Lancelot isn't going to say. Galehaut does not care, if Lancelot doesn't want to tell him his name, then he won't ask for it.
Anyway, that's exactly what Galehaut does, he continues fighting (Lancelot also fights on Galehaut's side but while wearing Galehaut's armour, I couldn't make this up if I tried) then when it's really obvious he's going to win, he goes and surrenders to Arthur and everyone knows that it's because of the Black Knight. So everyone's very happy of course, Arthur treats Galehaut like a friend, asks him to stay the night, etc. and like every few hours or every time Arthur asks him something (like 'Have dinner with me and my wife?'), Galehaut goes back to Lancelot and asks him what to do (obviously Lancelot says things like 'Have dinner with them'). Like straight up does this multiple times.
Galehaut spends the night at Arthur's camp (on Lancelot's advice), then goes back to his own camp in the morning where his friends (the two kings) have been keeping Lancelot company and they tell him that Lancelot has been crying in his sleep. Galehaut goes into Lancelot's room to check on him, Lancelot pretends that he's sleeping, so Galehaut leaves him alone, then when Lancelot wakes up for real, Galehaut asks him what's wrong. Lancelot tries to hide it at first, Galehaut tells him that he will actually go and fight who- or whatever hurt him, then Lancelot just starts breaking down and Galehaut runs to hug him and kiss him on the eyes and mouth. I know guys just did that back in the day, but like, plenty of people agree that Galehaut was actually gay, so yeah.
After talking to Lancelot, Galehaut goes back to Arthur's camp, has a nice chat, etc. then Guenevere goes up to Galehaut and privately asks to meet the Black Knight. Galehaut just blags it like 'I don't even know where he is', then goes back to Lancelot and tells him what Guenevere wants, and when Lancelot starts crying again, Galehaut realises what the deal is. He sets it up so that Guenevere and Lancelot can meet in secret, although he tells Guenevere 'You're going to take away the person in the world dearest to me' and Guenevere is like 'Um, what?' until she meets him and she's honestly terrible to him, just like toys with his emotions and everything until Lancelot is on the verge of another breakdown (if you don't know, Lancelot frequently falls into 'fits of madness' so it's not that surprising). She calls to Galehaut and tells him what happened, then Galehaut tells her to take pity on Lancelot and to love him back, which she promises to do. Then she tells Galehaut Lancelot's name.
So like yeah, Camelot was doomed because of Galehaut, basically, technically, kind of.
After that, Lancelot goes to Sorelois (where Galehaut lives) with Galehaut and they chill for a while, although Lancelot is really sad the whole time because he's not with Guenevere and Galehaut just has to do his best to cheer him up. Then Arthur gets attacked by the Saxons, a bunch of stuff happens, but it's all just details, really. Like Arthur gets imprisoned, they go to help but get caught themselves, Galehaut begs to be let to stay in the same cell as Lancelot but is denied, Lancelot gets to leave and Galehaut is convinced that Lancelot is dead when he hears this until Lancelot comes back to free everyone, and when he does this, Lancelot is in armour, right, so when Galehaut is free and starts to arm himself, he suddenly goes, 'I can't do this, I don't want to fight if the person I love the most is gone' (he actually says this) then Lancelot pulls off his helmet like 'No, look, I'm right here!' and they hug and all is well.
Then (do not think for a single moment that Galehaut's suffering ever ends) after the fight, Arthur is eager to make Lancelot his knight except that Lancelot currently belongs to Galehaut. Galehaut knows this too and says to Lancelot, 'What will happen to me then, I who have completely devoted my heart and soul to you?' (Again, not making this up.) Arthur really shows off his bad side here by acknowledging that he can't make Lancelot his own knight because Lancelot belongs to Galehaut so what does he do but get Guenevere to beg Lancelot to join Arthur's knights and of course Lancelot immediately goes 'Oh God yes okay fine' and Galehaut is understandably appalled by this, and he says 'I'd rather be poor and happy than rich and miserable' - which, wise words, - and asks to be made a knight as well. This is considered shameful for Galehaut (I mean, Arthur too, but never mind him) because Arthur's underhanded tactics means that he basically had the upper hand on Arthur at that moment, but chose to submit to Arthur instead.
This fact bothers Lancelot too because he's reduced Galehaut, who is such a great man, to begging to be made a knight for his sake. They're both so emo about this on the way back to Sorelois that they don't talk to each other until Galehaut gets distracted and has a terrible fall and nearly fucking dies, then Lancelot makes a huge fuss over him which cheers him up considerably. Then Galehaut tells him about his ambition to have 150 kings under him, after which he would make himself a king, and about the castle he built for him and his kings, except that he's thrown away all his ambitions now because of Lancelot. So now Lancelot is even more emo! And some people say that Galehaut could have been an even greater king than Arthur (I mean, he nearly defeated him twice) except for his love for Lancelot holding him back. So at least now Lancelot is aware of just how much Galehaut has thrown away for him and how devoted Galehaut is to him.
This is when a fake Guenevere appears and honestly, not too much of interest here (to me), except that when news reaches Galehaut and Lancelot about the accusation, Lancelot is obviously distraught but Galehaut is like 'I mean, it's good news for you if Arthur divorces her', then tells Lancelot that he'll make Lancelot and Guenevere king and queen of all the lands he has if that happens. He also reveals to Lancelot that he once had a thought to kidnap Guenevere for Lancelot's sake but figured that probably wouldn't work out and Lancelot agrees. But it's fun that Galehaut admits that the only time he has ever considered being a villain was for Lancelot's sake. Also, Galehaut and Lancelot go to Camelot for a while and Lancelot gets injured during a competition and he asks Arthur not to let Galehaut know because he would lose his mind. That's pretty cute.
Oh and finally, Lancelot gets kidnapped by Morgan, lots of stuff happens but she eventually lets him go on the condition that he not see Guenevere or Galehaut for a year, then Galehaut hears that Lancelot committed suicide and dies of grief. After he is buried, Lancelot eventually stumbles across his grave and is so wracked with emotion he's literally this close to killing himself when a messenger from his mother figure tells him to take Galehaut's body to the Joyous/Dolorous Guard (Lancelot's rightful land), which Lancelot agrees to do. When Lancelot unearths Galehaut's body and sees Galehaut's face, he nearly takes up Galehaut's sword to kill himself again before the messenger snatches it away. Then Lancelot goes to the Joyous Guard, breaks down over Galehaut's body again, then kisses him three times before burying him. When Lancelot himself dies way later, he's buried next to Galehaut, which is considered further proof that they were lovers, so that's sweet.
*I actually haven't read it myself because I read the Lancelot-Grail and feel like I died three times while doing so and frankly don't think I could handle a fourth time BUT I bet it's really good!
no subject